Genesis chapter 9.
And we're going to read the whole chapter.
Ralph is going to be speaking a little bit later on, or just after the reading.
Certainly I'm very thankful, an opportunity to sit and to hear God's word.
So I'm looking forward to it, but let's listen to God's word to us and ask for his help to us.
So let's read Genesis chapter 9, starting at verse 1 to the end of the chapter.
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them,
Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth,
and on all the birds in the sky,
on every creature that moves along the ground,
and on all the fish in the sea.
They are given into your hands.
Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you.
Just as I gave you the green plants,
I now give you everything.
But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting.
I will demand an accounting from every animal,
and from each human being too.
I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
Whoever sheds human blood,
by human shall their blood be shed.
For in the image of God
has God made mankind.
As for you,
be fruitful and increase in number.
Multiply on the earth and increase upon it.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
I now establish my covenant with you
and with your descendants after you,
and with every living creature that was with you,
the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals,
and all those that come out of the ark with you,
every living creature on earth.
I establish my covenant with you.
Never again will all life be destroyed
by the waters of a flood.
Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.
And God said,
This is the sign of the covenant
I am making between me and you
and every living creature with you.
A covenant for all generations to come.
I have set my rainbow in the clouds,
and it will be a sign of the covenant
between me and the earth.
Whenever I bring clouds over the earth
and the rainbow appears in the clouds,
I will remember my covenant
between me and you
and all living creatures of every kind.
Never again will the waters become a flood
to destroy all life.
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds,
I will see it and remember
the everlasting covenant between God
and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.
So God said to Noah,
This is the sign of the covenant
I have established between me
and all life on the earth.
The sons of Noah who came out of the ark
were Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Ham was the father of Canaan.
These were the three sons of Noah,
and from them came the people
who were scattered over the whole earth.
Noah, a man of the soil,
proceeded to plant a vineyard.
When he drank some of its wine,
he became drunk
and lay uncovered inside his tent.
Ham, the father of Canaan,
saw his father naked
and told his two brothers outside.
But Shem and Japheth took a garment
and laid it across their shoulders.
Then they walked in backwards
and covered their father's naked body.
Their faces were turned the other way
so that they could not see
their father naked.
When Noah awoke from his wine
and found out what his youngest son
had done to him,
he said,
Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.
He also said,
Praise be to the Lord,
the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem!
May God extend Japheth's territory!
May Japheth live in the tents of Shem!
And may Canaan be the slave of Japheth!
After the flood,
Noah lived 350 years.
Noah lived a total of 950 years.
And then he died.
Thanks, Ralph.
Good morning, everyone.
Thank you, Johnny,
for reading chapter 9 for us this morning.
I might just lower this slightly.
Okay.
And...
Okay, you can still hear me okay?
Yeah, okay.
Well, we reached the end of the story of Noah.
And the question comes up, doesn't it?
How does the world begin again
after such devastation?
A new start,
a new beginning is needed, isn't it,
after the flood?
I was thinking World War II
might be the closest reference point
that we have in our generation
to the time of Noah.
We've seen documentaries...
Sorry, I'm going to make this a little bit higher
now.
It seems to be going down on me.
Sorry, just seen the stand
for those listening on audio.
We've seen documentaries,
watched films,
and...
Sorry.
I'm really struggling with this.
Very glad we get this one.
Yeah.
Sorry, that might be easier, actually.
Sorry, I'm actually going to switch
the lines altogether.
If we make enough money in the book sales,
you might get a new one.
Sorry.
Thanks, Johnny.
Hello.
Dear.
Thanks.
Thanks, Johnny.
I said, I think the closest reference
we might have
to the devastation of the time of Noah
is World War II.
And I said, we've seen documentaries
or watched films
or even read books
about what that time was like.
And even through those,
we only get a hint
of what the upheaval
must have been.
After six years
and all the destruction,
it finally ended
in September 1945.
But not before
the US had dropped
two nuclear bombs
over the cities
of Nagasaki
and Hiroshima,
totally obliterating them
and killing
tens of thousands
of people.
But a new start
did come,
didn't it?
On the world stage
after World War II,
we had the emergence
of the United Nations,
we had the beginnings
of the early start
of the European Union,
and both of them
were an attempt
to say,
never again,
never again.
The scorched lands
of Germany
and Japan
were rebuilt
with outside help.
a new start
for the main aggressors
of the war.
And what can happen
on the world
or the global stage
can also happen
on our stage,
our personal stage,
on the small scale.
We can be left
wiped out.
We can be left
under rubble
by people
and by circumstances
or both.
We get that urge,
don't we?
We want to start again.
We want to build better.
And if you haven't
already gone through
a fresh start
in your life,
chances are
you've thought about it.
You've thought about
selling up,
packing up,
and just moving on.
And as we reach
chapter 9 in Genesis,
we find the first
worldwide
fresh start.
It is a post-apocalyptic
world.
The black and white
clips from World War II
can't compare
to the breadth
and the depth
of the destruction
here.
It was near
total,
global,
worldwide
wipeout.
And in one sense,
the earth is now
arguably cleansed.
We have these
eight
hand-picked
survivors.
And on paper,
all good people,
all chosen by God.
We could assume
that all that was wrong
with the old world
has now been
decisively dealt with.
It's sorted out,
gone,
and dead,
and buried
in the rubble
and the muck.
All that was wrong.
This is the
freshest
of fresh
possible starts.
And the focus
in Genesis chapter 9
is about that
fresh start.
chapter 8
has led us up
to it,
hasn't it?
The waters,
remember,
they subsided.
The waters are subsiding
and the dry land
is beginning
to appear again.
And that's an echo
back to Genesis chapter 1,
wasn't it?
Where the waters
were gathered together
so that dry land
could appear.
And the coming
of the birds
and the animals
out of the ark
to fill the land
again
and to fill
the skies again,
that's to remind us
again of Genesis 1,
isn't it?
Where God created
the animals
and he created
the birds
to fill the land
he'd created
and to fill
the skies
that he had created.
It's back
to creation again.
So God,
in a sense,
in chapter 9 here
and chapter 8
is helping us
to imagine
that this is
a re-creation.
It's a re-affirming,
a re-establishing
of his relationship
and his covenant
with creation
and with
his image bearers.
And of course,
we're meant to think,
aren't we,
then,
that if that's
what's happening,
that Noah
is like a new Adam.
Look at verse 1,
then God blessed
Noah
and his sons,
saying to them,
be fruitful
and increase in number
and fill
the earth.
You see,
the blessing
is being passed
on to Noah now
and the command
to be fruitful
and increase in number
and fill the earth.
Well,
that's Genesis 1 again,
isn't it?
It's back
to creation.
And God is saying,
enjoy the new start.
Be fruitful.
Fill the earth.
And we have this
provision as well,
don't we,
of food again.
Also an echo
from Genesis 1.
And we see that
in verse 3.
In the garden,
what was it?
It was all the plants
and all the fruit
and all the trees
that were given
to Adam and Eve
and to humanity
to enjoy.
And here,
everything is given
for food,
including the animals.
So steak is now
on the menu.
But,
can we also see
in these verses
the subtle changes
from the garden,
the subtle changes
to suit
the circumstances
of a fallen world.
The curse
and the impacts
of sin
resulting from
Adam and Eve's rebellion
still,
it's still simmering,
isn't it,
under the surface
through all of life.
Notice some
of the difference.
Look at verse 2.
The animals
that,
remember they came
to Adam
to be named
by him in the garden?
It's almost like
they come up,
there's no fear there.
Or they were brought
by God
to Noah
to enter the ark
and the animals
went into the ark
with Noah
and stayed with Noah
on the ark
and lived with him.
Well,
now they don't come
so easily.
Verse 2.
The fear and dread
of you will fall
on all the beasts
of the earth
and all the birds
in the sky.
They carry a fear
of people now.
So that assumed care
that we read about
in Genesis 1
of mankind
caring for creation,
that assumption
of that relationship
is,
well,
it's broken.
It's not as it should be.
And basics,
I mean real basics
that we could have
taken for granted
back in the garden,
they now need to be
spelt out by God
and written large
and kind of
blown up
and announced.
Basics.
The intrinsic
worth
of human
life
needs to be
spelt out.
Genesis 9
and verse 4.
But you must not
eat meat
that has its
lifeblood
still in it.
And for your
lifeblood,
that's the lifeblood
of a person,
I will surely
demand
an accounting.
What's
verse 4
and this thing
about lifeblood?
What's it about?
Why the emphasis
on blood
and lifeblood?
Well,
I think it's this.
God is setting
blood as a symbol
and as a sign
of life.
And we'll see that
all through the scriptures
from here on in.
But blood is
really a proxy
or a symbol
for life itself.
Blood,
then,
is to remind us
of what?
The sanctity
of life.
Blood
equals
life.
And you show
your respect
for life
by showing
your respect
for blood
as a symbol.
Even in how
the animals
are to be killed
and to be eaten.
It's to remind us
that blood
equals life
and life
is sacred.
Verse 5
and 6,
any time
an image
bearer
of God.
Think about that.
Any time
an image
bearer
of God
that is a man
or a woman
or the unborn
or a baby
or an infant
or a child
or the elderly
is spilled.
Any time
the blood
of a person
is spilled,
God
will
demand
an accounting.
God
will demand
an accounting.
Shedding
the blood
of a person
is no
small
thing.
God
himself
will hold
you to
account.
Why?
Why this
high standard?
Well,
verse 6
reminds us
and again
back to the
garden.
Whoever
sheds human
blood
by humans
shall their
blood be
shed.
Why?
For in the
image of
God
has God
made
mankind.
Each
human being,
each of you
here
this morning,
you bear
the image
of God.
You bear
the image
of God.
Even after
the fall,
even after
you've
been afflicted
by sin,
you still
bear God's
stamp.
Human life
is sacred.
It's touched
by God
himself.
And this
used to be
taken for
granted.
It used to
be a
cornerstone
of society
because of
Christian influence
over centuries.
But those
ethics around
life and
death,
they've
had a
lasting
impact,
but they're
drifting away,
aren't they?
The idea
that human
life is
intrinsically
valuable is
rapidly being
dismantled.
The value
of life is
now negotiable
and we
can have a
debate about
it.
And especially
debate and
negotiate about
those at the
very edges,
those that are
most vulnerable,
those that are
in the early
days in the
womb or those
that are at
their latter
days towards
the end of
their life.
Let's have a
discussion and
a debate about
killing.
Let's have that
debate about
the smallest
and the
weakest and
the most
vulnerable and
call their
lives expendable.
But the
Bible here
reminds us
that each
human life
is precious
because each
one bears
the image
of God.
Each one
is marked
and stamped
by the
creator.
To unjustly
kill and
to unjustly
take life
is to
unjustly
attack
God
himself
and he
will demand
an accounting.
So this
is the
fresh and
the new
start.
The garden
again but
with modifications.
We have
Noah as a
new Adam.
He takes on
the mantle to
rule and
care for
the earth,
to be
fruitful and
to protect
life.
Here we
have eight
people who
have witnessed
the flood.
They've
witnessed God's
judgment and
God's wrath
poured out
against sin.
And they've
been blessed
now with
God's salvation
and they've
been given
God's direction.
All the
old people
and all the
old circumstances
and all the
old situations
they've been
wiped.
They've been
wiped out.
They've been
wiped away
literally.
They've
arrived in
a new
country.
Everything
else is
gone and
in the
past.
They've
been told
to go
and make
the world
their own.
It's the
freshest of
freshest
possible
starts that
any of us
could imagine.
But what's
your experience
and my
experience of
fresh starts?
Well,
after a
time,
they're simply
not new
anymore.
They're not
fresh enough
anymore.
You see,
the old
issues and
the old
habits with
their simmering
tendency,
they kind
of come up
again,
don't they?
But why?
Why can't
we just
have the
never-ending
fresh start?
Well,
I think we
have a sense
of that
already.
Even if the
world was
washed clean
for us to
begin again,
we'd still
be there.
even if the
world was
washed
clean for
us to
begin again,
we'd still
be there
carrying with
us our
personal strain
and mutation
of the
sin virus.
It's along
the lines of
the old
quip,
and some of
you will
know this
one,
if you
find the
perfect
church,
don't join
us,
you'd spoil
us.
Which we can
modify as,
if you find the
perfect new
starts,
don't go
for it,
you'd spoil
it.
Let's jump
down to
verse 18
and look
at what
happened to
this new
start,
this global
new start.
They come
out of the
ark,
verse 18,
Noah and
his sons
and their
families,
and verse
20,
Noah, a
man of the
soil,
proceeded to
plant a
vineyard,
and when he
drank some
of its
wine,
he became
drunk and
lay on
covered inside
his tent.
Verse 22,
Ham, the
father of
Canaan, saw
his father
naked and
told his
brothers outside.
It's chapter
one to three
again, isn't
it?
It's like the
garden all
over again,
sin and its
consequences.
And we have
fruit again as
a trigger for
sinful actions.
This time it's
fruit from the
vine, grapes,
instead of
fruit from the
tree of the
knowledge of
good and
evil.
And Noah,
he's delighted
with his
post-flood
discovery of
his wine-making
abilities.
And nothing
wrong with
enjoying the
literal fruits
of your
labor.
There's nothing
wrong with
that.
There's nothing
wrong with
some of the
wine, verse
21.
But when
drinking and
sin can
combine, they
can combine
very quickly
to snare
the body
and the
mind and
lead to
drunkenness.
And like
the garden,
after the
episode of
sin, we
have this
following of
a sense of
nakedness and
a sense of
shame about
that.
Again, it's
all intentional
parallels between
the start in the
garden and the
start with
Noah.
Verse 22,
Ham, the
father of
Canaan, seeing
his father
nakedness.
And then we
have this
strange part
in some ways.
It feels like
an overreaction
by Noah.
After all, it
was he that
sins originally.
Poor
grandson
Canaan
ends up
getting cursed
because of
his father
Ham
happening to
see
granddad
Noah naked.
It's a
really strange
family
situation.
Verse 24
and 25,
when Noah
awoke from
his wine and
found out what
his youngest
son had done
to him, he
said,
curse be
Canaan, the
lowest of
slaves will
be all of
his brothers.
So we
have this
embarrassed
Noah and
his own
drunken
shame leading
to his
grandson being
cursed.
And the
cursing of
Noah, the
extremity of
that in some
way, points
us back to
consider how
bad the
behavior of
Ham was in
verse 22.
Look at what
it says right
at the end.
Ham, the
father of
Canaan, saw
his father
naked and
told his
two brothers
outside.
And instead
of protecting
his father's
dignity and
his father's
modesty,
Ham engaged
in shaming
his father.
And so we
get this
contrast between
his brother's
subsequent
modesty and
care for
their father
versus Ham's
neglect and
exposure of
his father's
shame.
And again,
the incident
might feel
small to us
or trivial,
but it's the
trigger for
Noah and
this family to
follow the
garden path
out of Eden
again.
Out of the
fresh start.
They walk
down the path
out of it
and split the
family line
between curses
on one hand
and blessings
on the other
hand.
Do you see it?
Do you see
Noah sins?
Ham sins?
Canaan is
cursed as a
slave while
the line of
Shem is
blessed.
The cycle
again of
fall and
blessing and
curses starts
again.
And this one
will reverberate
for centuries.
By the time
Moses, who we
believe wrote
Genesis in the
first five books
of the Bible,
sits down to
write this
account,
hundreds or
thousands of
years later,
we have the
Semites,
descended from
Shem or the
Israelites,
led by Moses,
about to go to
war with the
descendants of
Canaan,
the Canaanites,
who live in
the promised
land.
So the
Israelites have
come up out
of Egypt and
they're going
into the
promised land.
So the
descendants of
Shem,
meeting the
descendants of
Canaan,
hundreds or
thousands of
years later,
the curse
and the
blessing from
Noah's hand
eventually lead
to war.
So much
for the
fresh start.
And how
often in our
fresh starts
probably aren't
as dramatic
as that,
if we're
honest,
the opportunities
we've had,
but how
often in our
mini fresh
starts do
we end up
going down
the literal
or proverbial
garden path
again and
heading in
the wrong
direction.
And there's
almost a
paradox here
or a
slight tension
because our
fresh starts
are often a
needed blessing
and opportunity
and we need
them,
but we
spurn them
again and
again.
It's like
the stressed
father working
10 hours a
day.
And when
he's at
home now
because of
COVID,
and when
he's interrupted
by his
eight-year-old
daughter running
into his
room,
who just
needs 30
seconds,
he barks
back,
what do
you want?
Close the
door.
Instead of
How are
you?
It's good to
see you.
How can I
help,
pet?
You see,
the father
needs a
next time,
doesn't he?
He needs
a next start,
a new start,
to show an
ounce of
care towards
an image
bearer.
And a
fresh start
that comes
with a
new job.
There were
so many
negatives in
the old
place,
people either
not caring
about me or
the work or
demanding too
much out of
me.
Well,
this new
place,
I get to
start over.
I get to
build better
and put in
place better
working habits.
At our
home groups,
we've been
looking at
the life of
Noah,
or Noah,
I've done it
again,
Jonah,
the life of
Jonah.
Jonah ran
away,
and he
sailed away
from God.
He
disobeyed.
But God
patiently
chased him
down,
showed him
mercy,
and gave
Jonah a
second chance.
And like
Noah,
we can even
sometimes leave
it all behind.
We can leave
all of the
people and
all of the
circumstances and
have them
buried down.
And God can
even sit us
down.
He can open
up his
word and he
can lay out
for us how
to build
again and
what's going
to be different
this time and
how to behave
and how to
act like he
did at the
start of the
chapter.
And he
can give
his blessing
and he
can give
his direction.
You see,
we can thank
God for
fresh starts
and second
chances.
They are
a blessing.
But then
wham!
I turn and
I give out
to my
daughter again.
I cut
down the
new people
in my
job,
like my
old job.
Like Jonah,
I start to
grumble again
at God for
not sorting
out and
punishing
those people
that I
don't like.
Or wham!
Like Noah,
one day it's
about new
starts and
rainbows and
blessings and
then another
day I'm
drunk and
naked and
disgraced and
cursing my
own grandchild.
Is there
any hope for
our new
starts?
Any lasting
hope?
God
knows.
God
knows.
He knows
that new
starts
that new
starts give
way to
old
sins.
It's no
surprise to
God.
Look back
Genesis 8
21.
We saw
this last
week.
Genesis 8
and verse
21.
The Lord
smelled a
pleasing aroma.
This is after
they've come out
of the ark and
they've sacrificed
to the Lord
in thanksgiving.
this is what
he says in
his heart.
Never again
will I curse
the ground
because of
humans,
even though
every inclination
of the human
heart is evil
from childhood
and never again
will I destroy
all living
creatures as
I have done.
As long as
the earth
endures,
sea time and
harvest,
cold and
heat,
summer and
winter,
day and
night,
will never
cease.
Remember,
the world
has been
cleansed,
everything has
been buried
and done
away with
and before
there's even
a flicker
of rebellion,
of new
rebellion,
God promises
to never
judge the
whole earth
again because
of mankind's
sin.
Because
we can look
back at
the time of
Noah and
Genesis and
kind of wonder
but the reality
is this,
God could
justly wipe
out every
generation on
this earth.
He could
justly wipe
out every
generation on
this earth.
He could
repeat this
every single
generation because
of sin.
Because fresh
start means
fresh sin.
But God's
judgment on
the earth is
stayed because
of his promise.
God's
and we
see that
through chapter
nine,
don't we,
that being
given a
fresh start
and being
given a
clean slate
is not
a sufficient
remedy
for the
human condition
or for
human plight.
It is not.
A fresh start
and a clean
slate like
this is not.
Even before
we read a
single word
of a fall
from chapter
nine,
God is
promising
in his
heart to
be the
one that
is faithful,
to be the
one that
is merciful
towards his
creation.
The hope
for the
human condition
is God.
The hope
for the
human condition
is God
for him
to act
in steadfast
love towards
his sinful
image bearers.
And this
brings us to
the heart
of the chapter
from verses
eight to
seventeen,
where God
establishes
a covenant
with his
creation.
Let's look
at verse
eight to
eleven.
Then God
said to
Noah and
his sons
with him,
I now
establish my
covenant
with you
and with
your
descendants
after you
and with
every living
creature
that was
with you,
the birds,
the livestock,
all the wild
animals,
and all those
that came out
of the ark
with you,
every living
creature on
earth,
I establish
my covenant
with you.
Never again
will all life
be destroyed
by the waters
of a flood,
never again
will there be
a flood
to destroy
the earth.
God's
relationship
with his
creation,
with you
and me,
is always
through a
covenant.
But what is a
covenant?
Well,
there's many
ways to try
and sum up
what a covenant
is in the
Bible.
Here's one
way,
and I'll
say it
twice.
A covenant
is a
voluntary
relationship
involving
solemn
commitments
under oath
between
parties.
There's a
lot in
there,
say it
again.
A covenant
is a
voluntary
relationship
involving
solemn
commitments
under oath
between
parties.
And hopefully
we'll see
some of those
elements as we
look at this
one.
And the
closest human
equivalent,
and I think
this is quite a
common
comparison to
the biblical
covenant,
is the one
between a
man and a
woman in
marriage.
One man
and one
woman make
promises and
commitments to
each other
that will
bless them,
that will
enrich them,
and that only
death can
separate.
And in a
covenant,
like in a
marriage,
the emphasis
is always on
the relationship,
the relationship
between the
parties.
So God
here is
making
deep,
lasting,
relational
commitments and
covenants
here.
And we
see that
throughout the
scriptures,
through all the
other covenants
as well.
God makes
those deep,
deep commitments
to people.
And in the
Noahic
covenant,
the covenant
of Noah,
the God
of the
heavens and
the earth
and all
creation
freely
enters into
a binding
relationship
with his
creation.
And he
takes upon
himself
the
commitments
and the
promises
that he
will fulfill.
Yes,
there are
stipulations
on humans,
as we've
read,
to protect
life and
to protect
God's
image
bearers,
but it is
God who
makes and
upholds the
promise to
preserve life
on the
earth for
all
generations.
And that
is despite
each
generation
adding to
the fresh
mountains of
sin that
are building
and accumulating
all that
sin and
injustice that
we witness
in the
world.
So this
is how the
covenant here
works.
We've seen
Noah sins,
God sees
and remembers
his promise.
God waits,
God is
merciful and
patient.
The people,
including us,
after Noah
sin,
God sees
and God
remembers his
promise and
God waits.
God is
merciful and
God is
patient.
All the
time God is
remembering his
promise to
Noah, all
this time that
God is
remembering, he
also provides a
sign, a
physical sign, a
rainbow as a
reminder.
And future
covenants will
have their
signs, won't
they?
Circumcision,
the Sabbath or
baptism.
And each of
those signs will
see the human
side carry out
the cutting,
the observing or
the baptizing.
So there's
always a human
element in the
future signs and
the covenants
that will come.
But this
covenant and
sign is
different,
isn't it?
See, the
rainbow in the
sky, it's
enacted always
by who?
Not by us.
I mean, we
don't put
rainbows in
the sky.
It's enacted
by God.
And we're
not going to
read this all
again, but
just if you
glance down
through verses
12 onwards
about the
rainbow, it
says, this is
the sign of
the covenant I
am making.
I have set my
rainbow or my
hunter's bow,
literally, in
the clouds.
Whenever I
bring clouds
over the earth
and the rainbow
appears in the
clouds, I will
remember my
covenant.
I will see
it and remember
the everlasting
covenant.
So when it
comes to the
sign of the
covenant, the
rainbow, it's
all God.
I, I, I.
Not you, you,
you.
God is setting
the sign.
Not because he
would forget,
but so that we
are comforted to
know that God
is keeping his
promise.
because after
the global
flood, any
rain cloud in
the sky could
be a bit
threatening, a
bit menacing,
couldn't it?
Oh no, uh-oh,
oh, it's the
clouds again.
Uh-oh, we're
in trouble.
It's a threat of
judgment from God,
the clouds coming.
But God turns
around our fear
of judgment by
setting his bow
in the rain
clouds.
His bow, his
rainbow, serves as
a sign that he
would never judge
the earth by
flood again.
So brothers and
sisters in the
Lord, remember,
when you fail in
your actions and
your heart towards
your daughter, just
asking for some
help and remembering
that she too is a
sinner like you,
God is still
merciful and
patient.
When you reach the
end of yourself at
work because it's
full of sinners just
like you and you
want to collapse at
the end of the
day, remember that
God is still
merciful and
patient.
When you find
yourself like Jonah
grumbling at how
God is treating
your enemies better
than you think they
deserve, remember,
they are sinners just
like you and God is
merciful and patient.
When you mess up
like Noah in a
drunken, shameful
state and create
opportunities for
others to sin because
they are sinners just
like you, remember
God is merciful and
patient.
But for how
long?
For how long?
How long will God
put up with the
repeated failures of
the people on the
earth?
Where is the
justice and the
accounting that he
said was needed in
verse 5?
for all the
innocent blood that
has been spilled
since that day?
Well, the good
news is that the
cycle of new
starts and the
cycle of new
sins has been
broken.
It has been broken
by Jesus.
Jesus was the
first new human
being since Adam
and Eve that came
without sin and
his new start.
The new start in
Jesus lasts because
it is untainted by
failure and fall.
So that means the
day of accounting is
today.
Jesus, who never
sinned, says turn
from your sin and
put your trust in
me so that your
sin is credited to
me and taken care
of by my perfect
sinless death on
the cross on your
behalf.
We can only fully
benefit from these
promises of God,
his promise,
covenantal promise
of mercy and
patience if we
have given our
sin over to
Jesus.
And if we have
done that, we
are now safe in
him from any
threat of
punishment or
judgment.
To understand the
urgency of this,
that the time of
accounting and
salvation is today,
I want to finish by
reading from 2
Peter chapter 3 in
the New Testament
and we will end
here.
2 Peter chapter 3,
I think it says it
better and more
clearly than I
could try to
explain.
And we're going to
read from verse 3
onwards.
You're using the
church Bible, it's
page 1224.
And if you're here
this morning, for
those that follow
Jesus, you are
secure in the
mercy and
patience of God
because of Jesus.
For those that do
not follow Jesus,
the time of
mercy and
patience is
running out.
If you do not
believe, turn to
him today in
repentance and
faith.
2 Peter chapter
3, verse 3
and down to
verse 15.
Above all, you
must understand
that in the
last days,
scoffers will
come scoffing
and following
their own evil
desires.
They will say,
where is this
coming, he
promised, ever
since our
ancestors died.
Everything goes
on as it has
since the
beginning of
creation.
But they
deliberately
forget that
long ago, by
God's word,
the heavens
came into
being and
the earth
was formed
out of
water and
by water.
For by these
waters also,
the world of
that time was
deluged and
destroyed.
By the same
word, the
present heavens
and earth are
reserved for
fire, being
kept for the
day of
judgment and
destruction of
the ungodly.
But do not
forget this one
thing, dear
friends.
with the
Lord, a
day is like
a thousand
years.
And a
thousand years
is like
a day.
The Lord is
not slow in
keeping his
promises,
some understand
slowness.
Instead, he
is patient
with you,
not wanting
anyone to
perish, but
everyone to
come to
repentance.
But the
day of the
Lord will
come like a
thief, the
heavens will
disappear with
a roar, the
elements will
be destroyed by
fire, and
the earth and
everything done
in it will be
laid bare.
Since
everything will
be destroyed in
this way, what
kind of people
ought you to
be?
Well, you
ought to live
holy and
godly lives as
you look forward
to the day of
God and speed
its coming.
that day will
bring about the
destruction of
the heavens by
fire, and the
elements will
melt in the
heat.
But in keeping
with his
promise, we
are looking
forward to a
new heaven and
a new earth
where righteousness
dwells.
So then,
dear friends,
since you are
looking forward
to this, make
every effort to
be found
spotless,
blameless,
and at
peace with
him.
Bear in
mind that
our Lord's
patience means
salvation, just
as our dear
brother Paul also
wrote to you with
the wisdom that
God gave
him.
Amen.
Let's pray.
For
Heavenly Father, we
thank you that you
covenant towards
us.
you give us
your promises,
and you care
for us, and
you help us,
Lord, through
our new
starts, to
always turn to
you in
repentance, to
cast aside our
sin and that
which would
entangle so
that we follow
Jesus closely.
We thank you
for peace with
you.
We thank you
for your
patience now
means opportunity
for salvation,
and Father, I
pray for
any that do
not know the
joy of
salvation, that
they would turn
to you this
day.
They would not
exhaust your
patience, but
that they would
turn to you
away from their
sin in faith
and put their
trust in you.
Be gracious,
Lord Jesus,
now and
forevermore.
Amen.